An Italian Proposal
by Purpleabsofsteel
Summary: Harry takes Ginny to Italy for Christmas. Are they just going there for a holiday, or is something more planed? Part 1 is finished! Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**My friend Daron actually wrote this story about a year in a half ago when we were in 8****th**** grade, but I am putting it on here for her now, as her Beta. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:**** We do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. If we did, we wouldn't be putting the story on FanFiction.**

**********

"_Yes, Harry, you can love. Which, given everything that has happened to you is a great and remarkable thing."_

Albus Dumbledore,

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

**Part One**

Chapter One

CRACK. Ginny appeared beside Harry as looked at all the smiling, familiar faces already gathered around the table.

"Are we the last ones?" Ginny asked as she and Harry joined the table.

"Nope, Mrs. Tonks and Teddy aren't here yet." Ron said, looking a little impatient, as it was his mother's rule to wait for everyone before eating.

Around the table was almost everybody. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were arguing about whether or not she made enough food, George and his date, a modestly pretty witch with mouse brown hair, and a soft brown complexion, both listening to Percy, who was telling them about his new job at Hogwarts. Charlie was rubbing the belly of his impregnated wife, Megan. Fleur was watching Bill bounce a four-year-old Victiore on his knees, as she giggled with delight. Harry and Ginny avoided two empty seats, knowing that Teddy would want to sit next to Victiore. Then were Hermione and Ron, arguing about what gift to get Charlie and Megan. Harry and Ginny filled the remaining empty seats next to them.

"They're having a baby, Ron, we need to get them a gift for the baby!"

"Yes, but the baby will be a baby, and it won't recognize that we spent money for it. Charlie and Megan are getting so many gifts for the baby, don't you think they would appreciate- oh, hey Harry, Ginny."

"Hey Ron," Harry went to sit next to him while Hermione and Ginny were already deep in discussion about Megan's baby. The fire turned bright green as two shapes stepped forward, and the frenzy of hugs and greetings commenced, one last time.

The Burrow had an air of Christmassy excitement as everyone laughed, ate, and exchanged gifts.

"Thanks Harry!" Teddy exclaimed as he was already testing is new toy broom.

"And for you," Harry said as her turned to Ginny. She smiled as she opened the small envelope, not taking her eyes off of him. The little card didn't have much written on it but it was clearly written with great care. Ginny read it aloud.

"_You are hereby invited to a two-week vacation to Italy, to celebrate the Christmas holiday._ Harry!"

"No need to thank me, it's just as much my gift as it is yours." They laughed and kissed, then watched everyone else exchange gifts. Ginny went to go look at Hermione's gold necklace, and Harry walked over and sat by Ron.

"Italy, huh? Have you planned anything yet?" Ron asked.

"No, I just booked the hotels; I figure we should plan while we're there."

"Which is?"

"Two days. Holidays aren't long you know."

There was a large crash in the kitchen, and you could hear Mrs. Weasley exclaim, "Teddy, dear, no! Please take him outside Andromeda! Help, please!"

Ron looked at Harry like he had committed a terrible crime and Harry rushed to the kitchen to help.

******

"How much should I pack? Do you think we'll have time to read? Should I bring books?"

"Honestly, I've no idea, Gin, it's entirely up to you," Harry and Ginny were packing while they discussed and planned.

"So, what city are we going to? _Reducio_" Ginny asked as she was trying to fit all of her clothes into her trunk.

"Rome, and Venice"

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I wonder if there are any Wizarding communities there. OH! We don't speak Italian!"

"Relax. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley are brewing something to help us speak it. Now, I would help, but I've never been good with potions." Harry replied, looking at his dress robes.

"Oh! I'll help. Pack me some dress robes, okay?" Harry nodded as she turned on the spot and left with a crack.

Just as she left the fire turned to emerald, and Ron stepped out holding Teddy's hand.

"Baby-sitting, Mrs. Tonks is going food shopping." Ron explained.

"Teddy, do you want a snack?" Harry asked.

"Yes, please." He followed Harry down the hall. When Harry returned Ron was bouncing on the bed.

"So, I've been thinking, a boyfriend doesn't just buy a trip to Italy because he feels like it, are you hoping something to happen?"

"Well…" Harry replied

"Common! You know there is!"

"Alright! But don't tell anyone."

"Do you want me to make an unbreakable vow?" Ron asked sarcastically.

******

**Sorry about the cliff hanger, but it's the only way to make the next couple chapters work. Please review!! **

**Sneak Peek of Chapter 2: "MERLINS PANTS!" Ron said, falling off the bed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much ****crazyblondieandherlollipops for reviewing! But I already knew you would review because you are the nicest person on FanFiction. Now the rest of you please review. Good comment, constructive criticism, your favorite animal, ANYTHING! This story isn't really that funny, so don't expecting to be wetting yourself laughing, but there are some funny parts. Thanks.**

Chapter 2

"Okay, while we're in Venice, I think I'm going to propose." Harry said slowly.

"MERLIN'S PANTS!" Ron said, falling off the bed. That had been Ron's favorite exclamation for about six years, and Harry briefly flashed back to the day it started, before being pulled back to the present by Ron's screaming.

"WOW, Harry, are you serious?" Ron held his head like her couldn't take in so much. "Marriage, blimey, you know the only person I was with before Hermione was Lavender Brown, in our sixth year. Ugh" He shuddered, and again Harry remembered seven years ago. The year he learned about Horcruxes, and Ron and Hermione we in their biggest fight since Ron thought Scabbers was eaten by Crookshanks in their third year. Then he remembered the night he met his Sirius, and his godfather offered him a home away from the Dursley's. Then Harry thought he might be able to get Dudley's address and pay his cousin a long over-due Christmas visit.

_Wow, my mind is all over the place… _Harry thought.

Just then Teddy walked through the door with milk lining his upper lip.

"Is Grandma back yet? Can we go back to the Burrow?" He asked

"Yes, of course Teddy. Hey, Ron, remember, DON'T TELL!" Harry said. Ron was now biting his nails and looking somewhere to the left. "Come on, let's go."

Harry walked over the fire and watched Teddy throw the powder and clearly state, 'The Burrow'.

******

"Two drops of Essence of Diversity, hmmm, yes. Harry, dear, you're lucky this doesn't take long to make. Ron, are you okay?" Ron sighed, and Harry shot him a look, that most would take to mean Don't-Say-Anything-Or-I-Will-Turn-You-Into-A-Flamingo.

"Yeah, mum," But Mrs. Weasley was already murmuring more about ingredients. Ginny walked through the door with Hermione and Megan.

"How's it going Mum?"

"Done! It needs to sit for 10 hours, though," She said, looking at it strangely.

"Good! Harry and I leave in 12!" Ginny said cheerfully, as she sat down on Harry's lap, and he kissed her neck. Hermione sat down next to Ron and they kissed, just a little more than a peck. Megan sat, very slowly, and clutched her stomach.

"Ron, will you go get the rest, its supper time. Oh! Hello, Andromeda."

"Hello, Molly, how's the po-?"

"Granma!" Teddy came rushing in with Bill, Fluer, and Victioire behind him.

"Hello, dear!" She picked him up and brought him to the table.

"Where's Charlie?" Mrs. Weasley inquired at Megan.

"He was needed in Romania, his students were having trouble with some dragon, I can't remember what kind," Megan replied.

"He never tells me anymore…" Mrs. Weasley finished preparing dinner and put it on the table.

"Well, we'd better be heading back, now, Molly. Teddy and I are going to see a Muggle-made movie tonight. He is obsessing over Muggle-made things lately. Has he been spending time with Arthur?"

"Not that I know of, but I'll get back to you." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Harry, can we spend the night here? I have some more packing to do," Ginny asked.

"Oh course, Gin."

Everyone continued the conversation with many parts, randomly changing subjects as other people joined in.

"Where's George?"

"On a date with Ashley."

"Orange soda!"

"No, she belly-flopped into the pool."

"Hermione, thank you so much for translating that old fairy tale book from ancient runes, it was a wonderful gift. I don't remember any runes at all!"

"Oh, no problem, Mrs. Tonks. I already read it… too many memories…" The rest passed this odd comment by, as they were used to such comments from her, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at each other. They had shared about the horcruxes, but of the Deathly Hallows, they never told a soul.

Harry remembered the old ring, and wondered if it was still there in the forest. He was interrupted in his thoughts by Ginny.

"I can't believe it is just gonna be you and me for two whole weeks!"

Ron and Harry exchanged awkward glances.

******

"HARRY! HARRY!"

Harry looked at his watch, the old battered one he received for his 17th birthday. It was three o'clock in the morning.

"What could you possible want at this hour, Ron?"

"Late night snack?" Ron looked overjoyed as Harry got out of bed, groaning.

"Oh good! I just wanted to-"

"SHHHHHHH! Ginny is sleeping!" They both look at her. She grunted quietly and rolled over, and the two friends rushed out of the room and down to the kitchen.

As the quietly searched for something to eat, Ron brought up something Harry knew couldn't wait much longer.

"So, mate, you realize all women go crazy trying to plan a wedding, right?" Ron said as he stuffed what looked like a three day old cauldron cake into his mouth.

"Well, what about you and Hermione, are you just going to date for all of eternity?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about-" Ron was interrupted by three loud knocks on the door. They look at each other, wondering who could be at the door.

When Ron opened it, he shut it immediately, turned to Harry and said, "Get in the closet, NOW!"

Harry did just that, hearing the seriousness in Ron's voice. He was curious all the same, and he peeped through a small hole in the rotting wood of the door.

******

**Sorry again about the cliff hanger, but they are kinda fun. ******** PLEASE REVIEW! I'm begging you! (That rhymes!)**

**Sneak Peak of Chapter 3: There was a very small squeal from Hermione, but loud enough for every one in the room to see her before she disapparated with a CRACK.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you ****crazyblondieandherlollipops and LittleMissGinnyPotter** **for reviewing. You both made my day. This chapter isn't funny at all, its actually kinda sad. Sorry.**

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Chapter 3

Lavender Brown stood inches from Ron's face.

"I- err- H- Her- Hermione is err-"

Lavender giggled.

"Hermione's long gone, silly, and she doesn't matter. Only you and I matter," She said whispering seductively.

She pulled him closer, and locked him in a tight embrace. Harry could see Ron trying to break away, but it seemed she had become quite strong. Then the worst of Harry's current fears came into reality.

There was a small squeal from Hermione, but loud enough for everyone in the room to see her before the disapparated with a CRACK.

******

Harry pulled on his watch, it 6:00 AM, he and Ginny were leaving in an hour. He went downstairs to the kitchen, where he saw Ginny for a split second before she ran out to pack something else, last minute. She was determined not to apparate back once they were there.

Harry then noticed Ron, sitting at the table, his face red and puffy, pushing around his food on his plate.

"Why aren't you at the cottage?" Ron sniffed loudly, as Harry asked the question.

"Sh- she's there, get-getting her stuff. She's go-going to stay with her pa-p-parents." He started crying and Harry went to sit next to him, but he couldn't think of anything comforting to say.

Ginny rushed in, saving him from the silence.

"HARRY! Help me!" Harry ran to her aid, and they rushed around for the next hour, Ron not budging an inch.

When they were finally ready to leave, they each gave Ron a hug, but they had said the rest of their goodbyes the day before.

"Oh, the potion! Can you get it Harry? I'll get your stuff." Ginny said.

"Yeah, how many flasks do we need?"

"I thought YOU knew!"

"How would I know?" Harry looked around for directions as Ginny ran upstairs to wake her mother.

"Not in the pantry. Closet? No. Ron, where does your mum keep the potion books?!?!?" But Ron only sighed.

"Her-" he hiccupped "-mione was good at p-potions,"

This was true. Hermione was good at potions. He again thought to the one year he, Harry, was better than her. When he hid the book that held the secrets to his sudden success, so as to hide it from Snape. And what he placed oh so near it, only to seek it a year later, minutes after Ron and Hermione had officially become a couple. Ginny rushed in.

"She doesn't know, but she says Her-" She glanced slightly at Ron, and motioned for Harry to come closer with her finger.

"Go to her house, er, her parents house, and find out, I'll stay here with Ron. She needs to se you before you go anyway." She whispered so quetly, Harry doubted Ron even knew that she was whispering. Harry walked outside, to the garden, and looked at the gnomes. Her turned on the spot and felt his lungs compress as he was sucked into darkness.

******

He was on a small, quiet street. He looked to the east and saw the newly risen sun. He had been to Hermione's parents house only once before, five years ago. They wanted to meet Ron more properly, and Ron didn't want to go alone, so Harry and Ginny went too.

He walked up the steps of the large, Victorian-style house, and remembered Dumbledore telling him how it was rude to apparate directly to someone's house. He rang the doorbell and heard a very loud sound inside the house.

"Harry! What a surprise!" Hermione said as she opened the door further. She was wearing her bushy hair on the top of her head, very sloppily. She had on an over-large t-shirt and dirty jeans. She looked as if she had been crying a few hours before, and hadn't bothered to clean her face.

"Come on in, I'll pour you some tea."

He walked in the house and was greeted with hugs of welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Granger. As he walked through the thin entrance hall and into the living room he could've sworn he saw a giant plastic tooth sitting on a table, but it wasn't worth in to look back and check.

"I thought you were leaving for Italy," Hermione looked at her watch, "…about now."

"We had a change of plans." Harry replied, wanting to talk to Hermione a little more before he asked about the potion and left.

As Hermione poured the tea into his cup, her parents left the room, clearly because Hermione signaled them in some way or manor.

"So how are you doing?" Harry asked. Hermione burst into tears.

"I- I just don't understand!" She sobbed. "I LOVED HM! And- and I thought he loved me too. I, I can't even fathom why he would do something like that, when I thought everything was going so well. What did I do wrong?" Harry gave her a hug, and patted her on the back, which seemed to calm her down.

"You know, he was trying to push her away, he didn't want to kiss her. He's a wreck you know, he can't live without you," Harry said

"Oh, Harry, don't give me that" She sniffed. "I- I'm so sorry Harry. You should go. Ginny probably needs your help packing and all."

"Okay, Hermione, but promise me you'll be alright?" Harry knew this wouldn't help in the slightest, but it made him feel better.

"I can't do that, Harry, I'm sorry." He gave her a fleeting hug.

"Its okay. OH! I almost forgot. How much of that potion do we need?" She ran to get the book, still sniffing, and ran back.

"Three mouthfuls is good for 12 hours, but take the book just in case." She said.

"Thank you. Bye, Hermione, write to us. Just before he was sucked into darkness again he heard her say, "I will."

He appeared in the Weasley's garden , with the book in his hands and walked back into the kitchen, where Ginny was sitting on the table, with Ron's head on her shoulder. He looked up as Harry walked in.

"How is she?" Ron asked, his face full of hope.

"He guessed." Ginny explained. Harry didn't know what Ron wanted to hear, and was unsure of what to tell him.

"She's, er, doing okay, Ron" Harry said. Ron looked satisfied as he stared out the open window.

"Come on Harry, let's go" Ginny said, getting up from the table.

Harry got up, and emptied the necessary potion into a large jar, and sealed it with a charm. Ginny gathered their things.

They gave Ron one final hug, and when Harry gave his Ron whispered in his ear "Good luck, mate, hope she says yes."

"What?" Ginny asked, looking at Ron.

"What?" Ron replied in an excellent imitation of confusion. Harry smiled, and Ginny looked at him.

"What?" Harry said, and they all laughed… well Ron tried.

So Ginny, holding the jar in one hand, and a trunk in the other, disapparated, and Harry holding the other trunk, followed suit. Knowing that, no matter what happened, when he came back, everything would be different.

******

**I will cover Ron and Hermione in Part 2. The next chapter the are in Italy. PLEASE REVIEW! I love it so much when I get reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this next chapter, because it was originally three separate chapters, so it's a tiny bit longer. **

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Chapter Four

Harry took a sharp intake of breath. Not because his lungs were just withheld oxygen, he was quite used to that now. He took a deep breath because of the pure beauty surrounding him. He was standing in the middle of a bustling Rome, in front of a rather tall building, looking about 8 to 10 stories high, their hotel.

Ginny was still taking in the scene when they walked in. They walked right up to the desk.

"Potter, one room, er, we're a little late," Harry said. The woman at the desk looked bored. Harry thought he saw a small wooden stick on the desk behind her.

"Potter, Potter, Potter, oh here we-" she gasped and Ginny groaned.

"HERE TOO?" Ginny exclaimed/asked.

"Harry Potter! Goodness Gracious! I, I don't know what to say. You've made this a world a better place by far."

"Believe me, he knows! Now where is our room?" Ginny sounded a small bit impatient.

"And you must be Ginny Weasley, I saw the article in Witch Weekly about you, I grew up in England, so I still get all my favorite magazines-"

Just then a muggle walked by, and the woman behind the desk said, "You're in room 809, eighth floor the elevator in right over there" She handed them their key and pointed to a door some ten meters away, and Ginny seized the opportunity to make their escape, and grabbed Harry, and they rushed to the door.

Their room was nice. It has a bedroom with a television, and a small living room/kitchen which also had a television. Harry thought for a moment on how dependent muggles were on television, when he was interrupted by Ginny kissing him full on the mouth.

They snogged for several minutes before Ginny whispered in his ear "Come on, lets get going!" Harry retied his trainers, and he and Ginny left, walking swiftly pass the women at the front desk.

They had decided that Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, they would do muggle stuff. Sight-seeing and what Mr. Weasley called culture-soaking. The rest of the week they would explore the wizarding communities. They would do this in both cities; they wanted to get the fullest experience.

Harry decided they would take the plunge of a life time next Thursday, yeah, Thursday sounded nice. Plus it gave them a good amount of time left to enjoy themselves, if she accepted, and he would have had enough of Italy to go home if she declined. Everyone won, unless she declined. In which case Harry would not had won in the slightest. Why would she decline though? Harry tried to keep his thoughts positive. Still, he couldn't help but think what would happen if she did. They would probably break up, and he would be disconnected from the Weasley family, just like Hermione. And also like Hermione, he would become a wreck. Then the news, which had been even more interested in him since the release of "former" death eaters from Azkaban, would harass him. But, if all that did happen, he must enjoy the time he had left with her, only the two of them, in Italy. If he could.

******

For their first day Harry and Ginny searched for good restaurants and planned when to go. They, did this all day, and when they finally ate at one, they were so full, they barely made it back to the hotel.

After Harry and Ginny flopped down on the bed, they were asleep in five minutes.

The next morning, three owls were tapping at the window. Harry took one, Ginny took another, and the third lay waiting on the desk.

The letter Harry opened was from Mrs. Tonks.

_Dear Harry,_

_Teddy is thoroughly enjoying his new toy broom. It goes twice as high as the old one. Needless to say I don't enjoy it nearly as much as he does. The day before you left, Teddy asked me what a porporseller was. After a small amount of questioning I found out he meant 'proposal'_

Harry spluttered on the pumpkin juice he was drinking.

"What?" Ginny asked. Harry quickly made up an excuse and read on.

_I told him what it meant, and proceeded in asking him why. He said he heard you and Ron talking about it. I don't want to give you bad luck, but don't worry. You have this in the bag. Write me back with details and the level of secrecy you want this at. (I've figured out not to spread a secret unless you have specific instructions to do so) Good Luck!_

_With Love and greetings from Teddy,_

_Andromeda_

Harry dwelled momentarily on the probability that Ginny picked this letter.

"Who was yours from?" She looked at hers before taking out some parchment to begin a reply.

"Er, Mrs. Tonks. She just wanted to, uh, check in… on you know, errr, us," Harry hoped she wouldn't inquire further.

"Mine is from Ron. He's still clinically depressed. This is a big one, do you think it will ever, like, end?

"What, the fight? I hope so," Harry said, "chances are it will, but if it doesn't we're left sitting in a pile of dung."

Ginny chuckled.

"What can I say to comfort him?" she asked. Harry was now writing a stern reply to Mrs. Tonks, so was not paying full attention.

"I don't know, err… mention some good news," he said.

When he finished his letter, Ginny was opening the third.

"Its from Charlie. I recognize the- AHHHHHH!" Harry nearly fell off the bed. Her scream continued.

"What's wrong?!?" He asked as she inhaled deeply.

"Megan had her baby! OH MY GOODNESS! I'm. So. HAPPY!" Harry felt his ears, beginning to be sore, but now he too was happy enough to scream. He didn't, though.

"What does it say? Let me see!" She began to read it out loud despite Harry's desire.

"Dear Ginny and Harry, I am very pleased to inform to inform you, I'm a dad! OOOOOH YAY!"

"Keep reading," Harry said.

"Megan gave birth yesterday very early in the morning. His name is David Ronald Weasley. Longing your return, Charlie."

******

"So, whodya fink va godfaver is?" Ginny asked, with her mouth full of pizza.

"What? Oh, I don't know, maybe, Ron," Harry replied. The two were eating lunch at a small restaurant. Everything the spoke came out in a garble of Italian, not even they could understand, but when someone else spoke, they knew what they were saying. It was odd, and Harry didn't prefer it.

"I'm not sure you can get the middle name, AND the godfather spot. Can you?" Ginny swallowed before stating her opinion.

Harry was thoroughly enjoying himself so far. They'd spent the morning at the coliseum learning muggle history about muggle Roman leaders and what they did to muggle Roman peasants. Harry found it somewhat interesting. He fully planed to put the memory into his pensieve, for Mr. Weasley, who would find it just engaging. Engaging… Engaged.

Harry thought about it constantly all the time. It was a wonder he could pay attention to anything else. Or talk about anything else. Harry told himself he had done much scarier things. He had walked up to death knowingly. He died! Somehow, though, so much more was at risk now. Love, family, Ginny…

They spent the rest of the day doing the rest of their muggle tourism one day earlier then they planed, because they were getting bored of all the muggle this and muggle that, and felt it was time to explore the wizarding culture of Rome.

The next day, at breakfast, the discussed ways to find the wizarding communities of Rome.

"We could look for someone, er, wizardy. Like wearing a cloak or something," Harry suggested.

"What if we're wrong though? 'Excuse me, sir, where can I find the wizarding communities of Rome?' and it turns out to be a weirdo muggle wearing a cape!" Ginny pointed out, rather loudly. It didn't matter, though, because they hadn't taken their potion yet, so no one understood them.

"Well, lets just look around and see what we find."

They did exactly that. It was much easier then. Ten minutes in, they found two girls walking down the street, one with straight blonde hair, the other with curly blonde hair. They were talking at a ridiculous rate, so Harry couldn't make out what they were saying, and they were wearing muggle clothes. Curly blonde had a pin on her backpack that was an American flag on it and in the bottom right corner of the flag, a little snitch. America, though normally bad a Quidditch, improved their team by adding Pablo Ramirez, who was originated in the Dominican Republic, was a favorite for the World Cup, which took place this summer in Rome.

"Excuse me," Harry said, approaching them, "but do you know where we can find some, err, wizarding communities. I noticed your pin." Ginny looked at the pin which she had previously failed to notice.

"Oh, um, yeah! I'm Amber," said the curly blonde.

"Ooh oooh and I'm Shannon," the other added, "this is gonna be so much fun, we get to be tour guides!"

******

**I posted a Harry/Ginny Oneshot earlier today called ****Finding Love****. Check it out if you feel like it. And I forgot to put a disclaimer on it so I'm going to say it now. ****I do not own any Harry Potter like things.**** Also, I spelled discussions wrong in it :) **

**The next chapter has a lot of Amber and Shannon. They are some…interesting characters. They are probably my favorite characters in the story except for… well I'll tell you when we get there. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! I'm so curious to know what y'all think of the story!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for all the reviews!! This next chapter involves Amber and Shannon, a couple of friends of mine, and the original author. They have read this story, and approved, so we are not making fun of them. Many of the quotes and actions they do have actually happened. Haha.**

Chapter Five

Even though they just asked for directions, Ginny and Harry found themselves with new "BFF's".

Shannon and Amber were American. They moved to Rome last summer. They were the kind of girls that never stopped talking, or laughing. Always laughing. Always. Even at things that weren't funny. If you told a joke, they would crack up at the first two words.

Ginny didn't like them. Ginny _hated_ them. With a burning passion. Harry didn't know why, he thought, aside from being so… well, blonde, they were nice enough.

They knew who Harry was, and that he defeated Voldemort, but Voldemort was never strong in America; so it wasn't that big a deal. Also, they weren't very good tour guides.

"Okay, I think we should take them to the place…" Amber said, but broke off laughing.

"OH MY GOSH, that wa-has just sooo funny!" sad Shannon, "Remember, HA, remember when, when you, with the guy, and oh my gosh, the spoon," Shannon went on.

"Oh yeah, and, and oh my goodness," Amber turned red in the face.

"Okay, okay. Let's see, there's the pub,"

"Oh, right, the other place too!"

It was impossible to know who was talking. It went on similarly for five minutes, until Ginny cleared her throat rather loudly.

"Oh right," said Shannon," we'll go to Locatelli Alley first, and we'll eat lunch at Mario's, then we could all go to that jewelry store that Oswald owns!"

"Why a jewelry store?" said Ginny.

"Well, because, I'm in the mood for jewelry shopping!" said Shannon.

"Plus we haven't seen Oswald in a while," said Amber.

"Right then! Lets go to Locatelli Alley!" said Shannon.

******

Locatelli Alley was very much like Diagon Alley, except Italian. There were pet stores, wand stores, book stores, cloak stores, joke stores (though none as good as George's), sweet stores, pubs, bars, shoppes, and even a bank. There was a sporting goods store where the sold booms, and Amber, a Quidditch player/fan, wanted to look at the new Lightning model.

"I want it soooo bad!" Amber exclaimed.

"Harry already has it," Ginny bragged.

"NO WAY!" Amber shouted.

"I got it as a bribe to play for England, but I'm happy at the Auror office," Harry said.

"You're an Auror?" said Shannon.

"I didn't really get the grades, but they let me in cause, well I…"

"He singlehandedly defeated the most powerful dark wizard of all time," said Ginny, bragging again.

"Singlehandedly?" Harry said.

"COOL," said both Amber and Shannon simultaneously.

Mario's Pub and Bar was, well, a pub and bar. The food was good, and Harry, and Ginny, were fine going there. Amber and Shannon were talking about… well… everything, and Harry and Ginny were listening.

"What rhymes with purple?"

"Nurple rhymes with purple!"

"Nurple's not a word! You're such an idiot, Shannon!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"WAIT! Flurple. Flurple rhymes with purple."

"Oh, right! Good catch, Amber,"

"Thank you,"

"WOW," said Ginny.

Since it was a wizarding pub, Ginny was doodling on a napkin with her wand. Harry looked over. It said 'GW+HP' encased in a large heart. Harry felt the same flutters in his stomach as when he first learned Ginny had dumped Dean. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

He thought about what their wedding would be like. Ginny would probably plan it. He then thought of how gorgeous she would look, but was interrupted.

"AAAAARGH!!! STOP TOUCHING MY FOOD!!!" the shout came from the bar area.

"Oh, that's just Vinnie, he's OPD," Shannon said.

"Err, OCD?" Ginny corrected.

"What?"

"Never mind,"

Meanwhile, Vinnie had started quite a commotion. He's punched somebody and very much like a food fight, everyone started to punch someone. Except Amber and Shannon, who, of course, were laughing. Ginny took the liberty of finishing Amber's roll.

"Okay, you guys wanna go meet Ozzy now?" Amber said, still oblivious to the fact her bread was gone.

"Sure," said Harry, because Ginny now had her own roll in her mouth. "You can have mine, too," but it was too late.

******

**I have already started typing the next chapter, so it will be up soon. Please review!!! I want to know your opinions on everything that's happened! Pretty please with a cheery, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup on top :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I LOVE all the reviews I'm getting! Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Oswald Durnwald is also based off a friend of ours. In fact there are still two more characters based off actual people coming up in later chapters.**

******

Oswald Durnwald was a German jeweler who moved to Italy when he was exile from his own country. He never said why.

On the way to his shope, Amber and Shannon told Harry and Ginny just about everything they knew about Oswald Durnwald.

"And he has grey hair, only, its not really grey, it like blonde grey," Amber said.

"No, it's grey," said Shannon.

"He's, only, like, twenty-six,"

"It's definitely grey,"

"Oh! I almost forgot! His middle name is Waldo," said Amber.

"His name is Oswald Waldo Durnwald? Seriously?" Ginny said, thoroughly amused. Harry had to agree, it was a funny name.

Once they got in the shop, Harry was ready to leave. On one wall there were necklaces, on another were bracelets and earrings. On the third wall, right across from where the three girls and Harry were standing, was an entire wall with about ten shelves, filled with rings, each with a large diamond on top.

There was a small door on the necklace wall, and a large man came out. Indeed his hair seemed grey, but he was much too young.

"AAAMBER, SHAAANON!" he shouted, enclosing them in a hug.

"Oswald! What are you wearing?" said Shannon in disgust.

"I thought this was your favorite brand," Harry could hear the thick accent in his Italian.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! You're not wearing it right!" said Shannon. Oswald sighed.

"Who are your friends?" he asked, changing the subject.

"That's Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter," said Amber.

"And you are engaged?" said Oswald.

Harry could've been sick. He didn't say anything, and Ginny struggled with an answer.

"We, -no, were not, er, not well, yeah, not eer not…" she trailed off.

"Not yet, right Harry?" said Shannon. Harry avoided eye contact with Ginny. He had not seen that coming.

The girls were looking at earrings, when Oswald cornered Harry.

"Are you proposing?" He asked. Harry nodded his head.

Great. Now four people know his secret. Ron, the only one that was supposed to know, Teddy, Andromeda, and a man called Oswald Waldo Durnwald. Harry sighed.

"What size?" Oswald asked.

"Err… what?" Harry said.

"The ring! What size is the ring?" He asked again.

"Oh! Errr, seven," Harry recalled, he bought it the day before Christmas.

"Hmm. NOPE," Oswald said.

"Sorry?" Harry was confused.

"No, as in wrong, as in, she's a size eight!" Oswald said, going slightly above their whispering tone.

"How can you tell?!?" said Harry, louder still. He looked back and noticed the girls heard that.

"I mean, they look so similar, eer, it must be difficult." He saved himself.

"It's a gift," said Oswa;d, back to whispering, "I can resize it, if you want. Do you have it with you?"

"Err… no,"

******

Harry and Oswald decided to meet at night, in secret. So after a long dinner with Ginny, Amber, and Shannon, they went to bed, only to wake up again at two in the morning.

The alarm woke up Ginny, too.

"Why the bloody hell is the alarm clock going off?" she groaned as Harry turned it off.

"Maybe it's broken" Harry suggested cursing himself for not having an excuse ready.

"Damn alarm clocks," she said, falling back asleep. Harry quietly got dressed, and once in the hallway apparated to Oswald's shop.

Oswald was a wizard, so wasn't surprised when Harry appeared with a CRACK.

"Let me see it," he demanded, holding his hand out. Harry gave the small, black, velvety box to him. Oswald examined it.

"It's a nicely cut diamond, wizard or muggle made?" he asked.

"Goblin made, cost a small fortune," Harry said.

"Goblin made? It'll be tricky to resize, and it will take a while," Oswald said, to Harry's displeasure.

"How long will it take?" Harry asked, "Should I come back later?"

"Come back at seven," Oswald replied.

"Seven?!? It can not possibly take you _five_ hours to enlarge a ring on size," shouted Harry, irritated, knowing that seven was when Ginny got up.

Harry looked at the ring. There were flat rectangular diamonds around it, and on top was another diamond, about half the size of a small water bottle cap. He imagined the ring on Ginny's fnger, and he thought how lucky he was to get the chance at a perfect fitting ring. He had to make this work,

"Okay, fine, I'll be here at seven,"

"See you then," Oswald said, walking into his room.

Harry apparated back to the hotel and went back to sleep, thinking about the proposal, and how it had to be perfect.

At six forty-five the alarm clock sounded again, and Harry got ready to go. Ginny was already awake.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Harry was ready this time.

"I thought I might try and find some bagels, for breakfast. What kind do you want?" He asked.

"Cinnamon raison, with butter, please," she replied, Harry lodged it in his brain as he apparated again to Oswald's shop.

The shop wasn't open yet, so he appeared right in the middle of it. Oswald was no where in sight, but on the counter was the small velvety box with a note attached

_Harry,_

_I am bust with some family issues, so here is your ring. I am confidant she will accept but I wish you the best of luck anyway. I can tell she loves you by the look in her eyes. By the way, that ring costs fifteen galleons. Leave the money on the counter_

_O.W. Durnwald_

Harry left the ridiculous amount of money on the counter, and looked at the ring. It was perfect. And as he bought the bagels, he tried to imagine putting it on her finger, but all he could see was he giving it back.

******

**Next chapter will be up soon. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! Even if you don't like it. PLEASE. Thanks.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm soooooo happy you all are reviewing! I love it so much! This chapter introduces a new character, named Annalise, who happens to be based off of myself. Remember, my best friend wrote this story, so I am not writing the extremely generous things she wrote. I don't think those things about myself, and was embarrassed writing it.**

******

Harry and Ginny spent their last few days in Rome with Shannon, Amber, and occasionally Oswald. They went shopping very often, but Ginny didn't mind. Harry was okay with it, too, except for one day, when Amber and Shannon were looking in the window of a wedding dress shop, and exclaiming how much they liked one. Ginny didn't say anything, but Harry could tell she loved it. Other than that, Harry was fine.

On their last day, Ginny even admitted she might miss Shannon, Amber, and their incredible blondeness. The five off them went to the ballet that day. Oswald and Harry didn't particularly enjoy it, but they agreed it was mildly entertaining to watch people jump so high. Ginny was just surprised at how cultural Shannon and Amber turned out to be.

"Oh, they _love_ the ballet. They drag me here at least once a month." Oswald said, sounding irritable.

Afterwards, the star of the show was signing autographs, so of course they had to go. Her name was Lillian Waters, and Harry thought the name was amusing.

She was nice, and seemed to take to Shannon and Amber. The made a date to eat lunch together.

******

After dinner, Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes.

"OH MY GOSH, I'm- I'm just going to miss you guys so much!" Amber sobbed; Shannon patted her on the back.

"Hope you guys have fun in Venice," Oswald said with a wink at Harry. Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, Harry, lets go back to the hotel and pack our things," she said, just before she waved goodbye and disapparated. Harry followed suit, just hearing the good luck from Oswald.

At the hotel, they packed their things very quickly (thank you, magic) and were ready to leave in five minutes. That is to say, physically, they were ready. Mentally, Harry was no where no ready. Every body that knew told Harry, it was ten thousand to one that she accepted, so why was he so worried?

Why was it that all he could think about was losing her? Mrs. Tonks said that it was normal; that everyone felt that way. Somehow, though, Harry doubted that "everyone" loved their soon-to-be fiancés as much as he loved Ginny. He thought of everything he would give up to spend the rest of his life with her. However, he had to redirect his thoughts to Venice, as that's where the couple was headed. Harry only hoped they'd still be a couple when they left.

******

It was Sunday. Harry and Ginny were staying at a wizarding hotel in Venice and they'd never stayed in one before. So, naturally, when they were sitting in their new room, reading the brochure, they were nothing short of amazed.

"Merlin's pants, the have all sorts of wizarding competitions!" Harry exclaimed.

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"Normal ones like dueling and wizard's chess. And then there are weird ones like wizarding archery and…" he read the page more carefully, "folf?"

"Let me see!" Ginny grabbed the pamphlet. "Oh, they provide wizard tour guides, we don't have to find a ditz off the street! Wow, there's a whole list of about ten. Let's go with a witch, there's only two though. Hmmm, here choose one," She said handing him the pamphlet.

Harry ended up choosing the one with no acne, because both seemed nice enough. Her name was Annalise.

When Harry handed the brochure back to Ginny, an owl was tapping at their window. Harry opened the window, and gave the owl some owl pellets from the jar next to the window. Ginny took the letter and opened it.

"Awwww!" she said giving the photograph to Harry. It was David sitting happily in Ron's lap. Harry was more concerned about behind David though. There, Ron sat, with a weak smile on his pale, thin, face. He had bags under his eyes, and looked much worse then when he and Ginny left.

"I saw, too," Ginny said, "but let's write him later, Annalise's first tour starts in five minutes!" She rushed off to the bathroom to plait her hair, but Harry was still examining the photo.

He knew it would be disastrous if the two people never got back together, but he didn't see how it was going to happen. Hermione seem convinced Ron hated her and wanted nothing more than never to se her face again. And Ron had given up all hope of getting her back. Harry was thinking of outrageous ways to get them back together when Ginny walked in.

"What are you doing? Get dressed, quickly!" she said.

Harry did just that, and the two of them apparated into the lobby. There, a woman dressed as a muggle, wearing jeans and a bright purple blouse, had just started talking.

"Hello, everybody! My name is Annalise, and I'm going to be a tour guide!" She spoke in Italian, but Harry and Ginny understood, haven taken their potion already. "My tours will be from ten to three, everyday. We will be visiting famous muggle artifacts as well as wizarding history. Coming with me, you'll learn about Venetian culture of all different sorts. I also have a night tour from six to ten. If you come with me you'll be required to dress accordingly. That means comfortable, durable, muggle clothes. If you don't have any, the hotel has some you can buy or rent,"

Harry and Ginny agreed she seemed agreeable and pleasant, to say the least. She was a fairly pretty witch, Harry guessed to be in her early twenties. She had light-brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She spoke again.

"If you would like to take a demo tour, free of charge, I'm leaving to give you hours worth of Venetian muggle history.

"Do you want to go?" Harry asked Ginny, as many people were asking the same thing.

"Sure, why not?" Ginny replied.

"Okay, let's get going!" Annalise said.

******

As it turned out, Annalise was more that agreeable, she was nice. She was _really_ nice, like saint-nice.

Harry and Ginny signed up for Annalise's tours after the demo, and the next morning saw she had packed about fifty little sandwiches, they had guessed were for the people in the group. They were wrong. The sandwiches were actually for every homeless person, beggar, or street performer they passed. When she ran out of sandwiches, she gave them about ten Euros. In fact, she was so nice, more than a hundred people signed up for her tours. There to here was only room for ten. She had to hand-pick them herself, which broke her heart. She could barely tell them they couldn't come without crying.

Monday's tour was pretty basic; Annalise explained all wizarding and muggle history of Venice. A lot of it was really interesting, like, Merlin invented his first spell in Venice.

Tuesday passed the same way, generic muggle art and what was apparently the largest wizarding museum in Europe.

"Now, this piece is called the 'The Wedding' and it's by J.B. Ericsson, an American artist. This piece is one of the few wizarding paintings that doesn't move, but many modern artists say it has a magic quality," Annalise was saying.

The painting was of a newly wedded couple dancing at their reception. Harry imagined Ginny and him dancing after being wedded. He looked at her. She was staring at the painting with a bright spark in her eyes, like she wanted nothing more than to be the woman in the painting. Then Harry remembered it was Tuesday, they left Italy on Saturday, he was planning on proposing on Thursday, but other than that, he hadn't planned a single thing.

******

**I think I'll have only two or three more chapters until the end of part one, then I'll focus on Ron/Hermione. The next chapter is about planning for the proposal!! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! You'll be my bestest buddy in the whole wide world :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I forgot to do this whole beginning thing when I posted it, so if you got two emails, I'm sorry!! Thanks for reviewing!! I love all these reviews. They are so awesome.**

Chapter Eight

Harry only had one day, and he needed all the time he could get to plan the moment that would change his life, and hopefully Ginny's too. He needed something romantic to do when he proposed, someplace to take her. He needed something to wear; he needed something to say besides "Will you marry me?" He needed help.

Wednesday morning he went down to the front desk inquiring where he could find help. He was told to find the whole's customer relations manager, Emma Pepper.

He found her in the small customer relations office next to the folf course.

She was nice woman with very dark brown hair, who had an American accent. She was nicely dressed, and had what looked like very expensive shoes on.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she said. Harry explained his predicament. His whole predicament.

"Hmmm… okay, here's what you do: Go upstairs and tell Ginny you're sick. If she calls up a healer, I'll take care of it. Tell her you don't want her to miss a day of her trip, insist she goes. After she leaves wait ten minutes and the meet me in the lobby. We'll tackle the rest later," Emma said.

Harry got to work. It was hard to convince Ginny to go, but in the end, she left, and after waiting ten minutes, he apparated down to the lobby, where Emma sat wait for him.

"Okay, let's get going," she said.

******

While Harry and Emma were walking they talked. First, about Harry and Ginny's relationship, then the conversation slowly moved to talking about themselves. Emma didn't know much about Harry, and Harry knew absolutely nothing about Emma, so they talked for a while.

"So, I went to school at Hogwarts, and to fully explain my experience there, I would have to write a novel, or perhaps, a series of seven novels or so. I think someone did, there were zillions of biographies written," Harry felt he wasn't doing a very good job explaining his life, everyone already knew, so he never had to explain before.

"Well, I went to school in France, Beauxbatons," she was saying, "I never had any sort of adventure there. Oh, wait. In my second year, the whole school went to Hogwarts for the Triwizard thing, but I left before the champions were picked, because that was when my dad died," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How did he die?" Harry asked.

"A severe case of the dragon pox, at his age… So, how did that tournament turn out, you were there right?" she said.

"Oh, yeah, I was, er, there. One of the contestants died, and, er, it was unclear who won," he said, once again feeling as though he wasn't getting the whole thing. It not as if she needed the whole thing, though, so Harry stuck with the "short" version.

"Oh! We're here!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"Er, where?"

"We're here to buy you some new clothes!"

******

After trying on numerous dress robes and hearing Emma turn down everyone, Harry was quite relieved to her approval of one.

"It's classy and stylistically in," she said.

Afterwards, they went to find a place to propose at, and they talked about what he should say.

"I mean there's always 'what are you doing for the rest of your life?' but we all know that's getting old, so let's save it as a last resort," Emma suggested. Harry was reading an advertisement for gondola rides.

"What about this?" he asked.

"What?" Emma replied.

"How would it be if I proposed on a gondola?"

"Holy cows and monkeys! Why didn't I think of that? I mean, it's the most obvious solution, it's simple, it's romantic, and it's something she'll remember forever! AHH, I'm such an idiot," she shouted, unnecessarily. "Who are you taking tours with?"

"Annalise, she's, er, really nice," he said, though he could tell his understatement was not inadequate.

"Oh! Annalise is my best friend! Okay, I can set this up; meet me in my office at nine. Tell Ginny your going for another check-up, see you then!" she turned on the spot and left. Harry followed suit.

******

When he arrived at the hotel it was quarter of three and Ginny would be getting home soon, so he quickly rushed upstairs and put on his pajamas, took off his glasses, and messed up his hair… more.

After under the covers, he fell asleep, as he was very tired, it was not a difficult task.

When he woke up it was six thirty, Ginny sat next to him.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked, kissing him on the forehead.

"Okay, a little better," Harry said in a horse voice.

"Well, the doctor called. He said he wanted to see you again at nine, and that you'll be better by tomorrow, go back to sleep for now, though," she said.

He did go back to sleep, and when Ginny woke him up, it was almost nine. Harry got dressed, and went down to Emma's office.

He didn't take two steps in before she had started talking.

"I've thought this over long and hard," she said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"What you're going to say!" she continued on, "I know that you love Ginny-"

"More than anything!" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, I know. Which is why I believe in you. I believe you can do this without my help," Emma said, almost solemn.

"Oh gosh! I'm going to screw this up _so_ bad!" Harry said, not a small bit distressed.

"Badly," Emma corrected.

"What?"

"Never mind,"

"She'll never accept if I have some lame-ass proposal" Harry lost it, "I need help, I can't do this alone!"

"Yes, you can, you can do this, you don't need anyone's help! Now go upstairs, and try to sleep!" Emma ordered.

Harry did try. He tried hard to sleep, but he knew it was useless. He fell asleep at 3:06, but found he would rather stay awake staring at the bright red clock than experience the dreams he did. They were the worst kind. The kind where the content is so horrible, you can't bear to watch, so you close your eyes, only you can see right through your eyelids. And Harry saw everything. He saw himself, getting down on one knee, and Ginny, shaking her head in disgust. He saw the Weasley family, staring him down with contempt on their faces, turning him away, never to see him again. Then Ginny again, pushing him out of the gondola, and into the bay.

As he awoke with a start he realized the alarm was about to go off, so he got up solemnly. He felt he was walking to his death, again. He was getting dressed when the alarm sounded, and Ginny woke as well. She looked out the window.

"Gorgeous day out, today," She said, with that great big smile on her face that Harry loved so dearly. She got dressed and carefully plaited her bright red hair, which Harry loved so dearly. When they were both done getting ready, she looked at with the large brown eyes that Harry loved so dearly, and said "Let's go!"

They saw Annalise in the lobby, and as Harry saw Ginny's face, her beautiful perfect face walk away from him, and towards Annalise, he almost backed out.

"Wait, Ginny," he said almost choking on his words.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I have special plans for today" he said, and somehow, someway, there was a smile on his face.

******

**Next chapter is the proposal!! Please review! There is only one chapter left of part one, so you want to say what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you **Last of the Trifecta, XxXAishitruXxX, MerlfoxFell, MissLisaBennett, Solosinger1, RaNdOmGeEk, hpMaurauder4Life, GinnyCullen831, BratDoggy57, OldSnake117, blackandwhitetwilight, 13, LittleMissGinnyPotter, **and of course, my favorite reviewer ever,** crazyblondieandherlollipops**, for reviewing!! I loved all of your reviews. This chapter is super short, but it's the most important!

******

Since Ginny didn't know where they were going, Harry used side-along apparition to take her to the bay, where their gondola, arranged gratuitously by Emma, was waiting for them.

"Well isn't this a lovely surprise," Ginny said as she carefully stepped into the steadily rocking boat. Harry did the same.

About ten minutes passed, and neither said anything. It was horribly awkward, and so Harry decided to get it over with.

"Ginny," he started, terrified, "the last six years have been so incredibly wonderful, you can't even imagine how incredible it feels to see your face every morning."

"Yes, I can," she stated simply.

"Ginny, I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," she said, looking him straight in the eye.

"More than anything in the world," they said it together, in perfect unison. Then it happened.

Looking back, he never remembered doing it voluntarily, but Harry got down on his knee. The hard wood of the boat was uncomfortable. He pulled out the black velvety box from his pocket. His palms were sweaty. He opened the box. The newly risen sun glinted off the diamond, and into his eye. And yet, the moment was perfect.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, Ginny, will you marry me?" Harry spoke clearly and then, Ginny did something very unexpected. She sang.

"His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad," she began, Harry immediately recognized the song she wrote so long ago, "His hair is as dark as a blackboard. I'm so glad he's mine, he's really divine; the hero who conquered the Dark Lord." As she finished there were tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Harry. I will marry you," she spoke after a long moment of silence. "I would've married you the very moment I first laid eyes on you in King's Cross Station. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I didn't."

When Harry finally had voice enough to speak, he said, "Then it looks like we've got some planning to do."

******

**I smiled the whole time while typing this chapter. Part 2 is on the way, and we will focus on Ron and Hermione, so be prepared! And please review, because if there is something about the writing you feel needs changing we will try to add it in for Part 2. REVIEW PLEASE! IT WOULD MEAN THE WORLD TO ME! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. Thanks to all the amazing reviewers!!**

******

BANG, CRASH, BOOM!!

"Ugh," sighed Ron. Teddy had knocked over a vase, his wizard's chess set, and his life-size cardboard cutout of the Chudley Cannon's seeker, Galvin Gudgeon. "Give it a rest, Teddy," Ron said weakly, not moving from the arm chair he had been all but living in since Hermione left, moving only to eat, sleep, and relieve himself.

Harry and Ginny were due back the next day. Unless, of course, they decided to extend their trip. Ron had just gotten the letter explaining the proposal and Ginny's enthusiastic acceptance.

_Ron,_

_Guess what! Harry proposed! I'm so excited. I thought he never would. I love him so much. He proposed on a gondola! A GONDALA!! We're coming home tomorrow. How are you? Everything will be fine, I promise. Until then, man up and stop moping around. Tell everyone I say hello. I love you._

_Love,_

Ginny

Not like you couldn't see it coming. Everyone was ecstatic at the engagement, but Ron was finding it difficult to be happy about anything lately, begetting his family to accuse him of cynicism. Rightly, too. It was getting harder and harder to wake up and know he wouldn't see or hear from Hermione. Going on without her was like running in waist-deep water. Everything reminded him of her: her knack with charms--and everything else--, her melodic laugh, her smile, it was painful to know those things were missing from his life. They went, taking with them all of Ron's happiness. _Everything will be fine_, Ginny wrote; Ginny _promised._ Ron knew better. Nothing will be fine.

Later on, he sat at the kitchen table, everyone was there at dinner, talking about the engagement, or the new baby, all happy things, but Ron could find no joy in anything. The only happy things in his life were the memories of his time with Hermione: that awkward period towards the end of school, and all throughout their search for horcruxes that they were trying to get things going, ending in their first kiss, in the midst of the Battle of Hogwarts, and their first official date, the period that they spent ten straight days, never leaving each other's side, until Hermione had to go to a job interview in London, and Ron's brother was visiting for the day, before leaving again for another six month trip to Romania, making it mandatory to see him. These were the memories he kept revisiting, and the joy in them lacking to the real world, was what made him a cynic.

After dinner, he went up to his attic bedroom. Even though Hermione was quick to remove all her things and herself from the little cottage they had shared, the place still reminded him of her. Her scent was still on everything, and she couldn't well take the window seat she so loved, where she would sit and read and where the light shone on the pages, and on her soft skin, brightening her dark brown eyes, highlighting the gold in her brown locks. Silent tears ran down Ron's face, rolled down his cheeks, and into the corners of his mouth, where he could taste them, salty, melancholic. They continued on, not stopping until he fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning, Harry and Ginny appeared in the front lawn during breakfast. They walked hand in hand through the door as their luggage trailed magically after them. The smiles on their faces were the smiles of a young and carefree couple. The smiles that he: Ron and Hermione used to wear together.... Ron told himself to stop being so self-absorbed as he joined the crowed eager to hug and kiss and congratulate. Ginny let go of their embrace with a concerned look.

"How're you holding up?" Ron saw Harry look over at him with a look that said he wanted to know too.

"I'm fine," Ron lied. In fact, he was not fine in the slightest, and the remaining worried expressions of Ginny and Harry said they knew this. However, their further interrogations were swallowed as a celebratory bottle of firewhiskey was opened, and the couples' faces turned bright again, excited at their future together. Mrs. Weasley had already started asking of their wedding, where will it be? When? And could she help plan it?

"Of course! We couldn't do it without you!" Harry said, and Ginny beamed her agreement.

******

**Please read The Moment That Started It All by the same author. It's an amazing one shot. Please review!!!!!!!**


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